Handling PR feedback and updates in Git - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of this git command after updating a PR branch?

You have a branch named feature checked out. You run git pull origin feature after pushing changes to update your local branch. What will this command output if your local branch is already up to date?

Git

git pull origin feature

A Already up to date.

B error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge:

C Merge made by the 'recursive' strategy.

D fatal: Couldn't find remote ref feature

💡 Hint

Think about what git says when no new changes are fetched or merged.

When your local branch matches the remote branch, git pull reports 'Already up to date.' because there is nothing new to merge.

🔀 Workflow

intermediate

Which git workflow step correctly updates a PR branch after feedback?

You received feedback on your pull request and made changes locally on your feature branch. What is the correct sequence to update the remote PR branch with your new commits?

A git add . → git push origin feature → git commit -m 'fix'

B git commit -m 'fix' → git add . → git push origin feature

C git push origin feature → git add . → git commit -m 'fix'

D git add . → git commit -m 'fix' → git push origin feature

💡 Hint

Remember the order: stage changes, commit, then push.

You must first stage changes with git add, then commit them, and finally push to update the PR branch.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

What error occurs if you try to push to a PR branch without committing changes?

You modified files locally but forgot to commit. You run git push origin feature. What error will git show?

A error: failed to push some refs to 'origin'

B Everything up-to-date

C fatal: You have not concluded your merge (MERGE_HEAD exists).

D fatal: The current branch feature has no upstream branch.

💡 Hint

Think about what git pushes when no new commits exist.

If you have uncommitted changes, git push will not push them. It will say 'Everything up-to-date' because no new commits exist to push.

🧠 Conceptual

advanced

What is the best practice to keep your PR branch updated with the main branch before pushing changes?

You want to update your PR branch feature with the latest changes from main before pushing your fixes. Which command sequence is best?

A git checkout main → git pull origin main → git checkout feature → git merge main

B git checkout feature → git pull origin main

C git checkout feature → git rebase origin main

D git checkout main → git merge feature

💡 Hint

You want to update main first, then merge it into your feature branch.

First update your local main branch, then switch to your feature branch and merge main into it to get the latest changes.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Which git command safely updates a PR branch by replaying your commits on top of the latest main branch?

You want to update your PR branch feature with the latest main branch changes, keeping a clean history by replaying your commits. Which command do you use?

A git merge main

B git cherry-pick main

C git rebase main

D git pull origin main --no-rebase

💡 Hint

Rebasing replays commits on top of another branch.

Using git rebase main moves your commits to the tip of main, creating a linear history.

Practice

1. When you receive feedback on a pull request (PR), what is the first step to update your code accordingly?

easy

A. Check out the feature branch locally to make changes

B. Merge the main branch into your feature branch without changes

C. Close the PR and create a new one

D. Delete the feature branch and start over

Solution

1. Step 1: Switch to the feature branch

   You need to work on the branch where the PR was created to apply feedback changes.

2. Step 2: Make the necessary code updates

   After switching, edit the code to address the feedback.

3. Final Answer:

   Check out the feature branch locally to make changes -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Update code on feature branch = A [OK]

Hint: Always update code on the feature branch first [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to update main branch instead of feature branch
• Closing PR unnecessarily
• Starting a new branch without reason

2. Which git command correctly stages all changed files before committing updates for a PR?

easy

A. git commit -a -m "Update code"

B. git checkout -b update-branch

C. git push origin main

D. git add .

Solution

1. Step 1: Stage all changes

   The command git add . stages all modified and new files in the current directory.

2. Step 2: Commit the staged changes

   After staging, you use git commit -m "message" to save changes locally.

3. Final Answer:

   git add . -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Stage all changes = git add . [OK]

Hint: Use 'git add .' to stage all changes before commit [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using git commit -a without staging new files
• Pushing before committing
• Creating new branches unnecessarily

3. Given the following commands run in sequence on a feature branch:

git add file.txt
git commit -m "Fix typo"
git push origin feature-branch

What happens to the existing pull request linked to feature-branch?

medium

A. A new pull request is created

B. The pull request updates automatically with the new commit

C. The pull request is closed

D. Nothing changes until you merge manually

Solution

1. Step 1: Push updates to the feature branch

   Pushing commits to the branch linked to the PR updates the PR automatically.

2. Step 2: PR reflects new commits

   The PR shows the new changes for reviewers to see and re-review.

3. Final Answer:

   The pull request updates automatically with the new commit -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Push to feature branch updates PR = A [OK]

Hint: Push changes to update existing PR automatically [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking a new PR is needed for each update
• Believing PR closes on push
• Assuming manual merge needed to update PR

4. You tried to push updates to your feature branch but got this error:
! [rejected] feature-branch -> feature-branch (non-fast-forward)
What is the best way to fix this?

medium

A. Pull latest changes from remote and rebase before pushing

B. Delete the remote branch and push again

C. Force push with git push --force

D. Create a new branch and push there

Solution

1. Step 1: Fetch and rebase remote changes

   Run git pull --rebase origin feature-branch to update your local branch with remote changes without merge commits.

2. Step 2: Push the rebased branch

   After rebasing, push your changes normally with git push origin feature-branch.

3. Final Answer:

   Pull latest changes from remote and rebase before pushing -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Fix non-fast-forward by rebasing and pushing = C [OK]

Hint: Rebase remote changes before pushing to avoid errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using force push without caution
• Deleting remote branch unnecessarily
• Creating new branches instead of syncing

5. You have multiple commits in your feature branch but want to combine them into one clean commit before updating the PR. Which sequence of commands achieves this?

hard

A. git merge main; git commit -m "Clean update"; git push

B. git rebase -i main; edit commits; git push

C. git reset --soft HEAD~3; git commit -m "Clean update"; git push --force

D. git checkout main; git cherry-pick feature-branch; git push

Solution

1. Step 1: Soft reset last 3 commits

   git reset --soft HEAD~3 moves HEAD back but keeps changes staged, allowing to combine commits.

2. Step 2: Create a single new commit and force push

   Commit staged changes with a new message, then force push to update PR with one clean commit.

3. Final Answer:

   git reset --soft HEAD~3; git commit -m "Clean update"; git push --force -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Combine commits by soft reset and force push = B [OK]

Hint: Use soft reset and force push to squash commits [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using merge instead of squash
• Forgetting to force push after rewriting history
• Incorrectly rebasing without editing commits